Integration and sustainability in Lincolnshire

Harrington Farming Enterprises, is a partnership between William Price whose father started the arable farm and Paul Broughton who joined William as Estates Manager. Together with Jim Hough, who is the Layer Farm Manager, the three of them have developed an integrated business model and a highly disciplined approach to egg production.

As Jim explains “William and Paul went into chickens because it complements arable farming. It’s all about integration and sustainability, circular agriculture, and low carbon. We can grow a significant percentage of our feed, which is milled on site, and the muck, which is rapidly becoming liquid gold, goes back to the farm”.

“We are conscious of the need to reduce soya content as far as possible which is why we substitute beans– to keep soya down. Milling our own feed also gives us more control and fine-tuning options than we could expect from premixed rations. We can literally refine the diet for the Bovans every week. Having our own nutrition means we minimise nutritional waste, food is not bulked up with unnecessary ingredients, and the ration is jammed packed full of ingredients that match the bird’s needs. Everything in the feed is there for a reason, and the result is feed intake which is below the breed standard”.

Now on flock number four of Bovans, hatched by Joice and Hill, the company have been with the breed from day one. As Jim explains “after the third flock we tested the market but stayed loyal to Bovans in the end. The Bovans do the job for us, and we have got to know the breed now, and see no reason to change. Will Judson of Joice and Hill is very good, he knows his stuff because of his background, he has done the farm manager’s job. It is an advantage over a lot of reps because it enables him to give practical advice and sensible solutions”.

“All the flocks have produced well, and so far, we have kept them to 78 weeks, with the current flock scheduled to deplete at 80 weeks. I am sure the birds will cope with it. The knowledge we have gained from previous flocks will help, in addition the control over feed means we can plan the diet to support the birds and the extra two weeks will boost profit. We find we can control the egg size which comes down to monitoring, and attention to detail – a large egg doesn’t do the chickens any good, so keeping balance between medium and large is the sweet spot for welfare and longevity”.